LANSING, Mich. – A state-level commission of education
experts, teachers and policymakers will draft a new tool for evaluating
teachers under Michigan’s new teacher tenure law, according to Michigan Public
Radio.

The new law makes it easier for school districts to dismiss
educators who are considered “ineffective” in the classroom, and also makes job
performance the key element in determining layoffs, rather than seniority,
according to MPR.

The commission will devise a tool for school districts to
use in determining teacher effectiveness, MPR reported. The model is due to
Gov. Rick Snyder by April 1, 2012, for implementation that year, according to
MPR. In 2012, a teacher’s rating on the new evaluation tool will account for 20
percent of that educator’s rating; by 2014 it will account for half of the
teacher’s rating, MPR reported.

In a change from past practice, MPR reported, evaluation
methods will not be subject to collective bargaining between school districts
and teachers.

State Rep. Margaret O’Brien, R-Portage, told MPR that the
Legislature will vote on the final evaluation tool, but John Austin, president
of the Michigan State Board of Education, told MPR he does not believe that’s
the case.